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Samori Ture was Koniaka-malinké, born in c. 1830 in Manyambaladugu (in the Konyan/ Beyla region of what is now south-eastern Guinea), the son of Dyula traders. He grew up as West Africa was being transformed through growing contacts and trade with the Europeans in commodities, artisan goods and products. European trade made some African trading states rich. The trade in firearms changed traditional West African patterns of warfare and heightened the severity of conflicts, increasing the number of fatalities. Early in his life, Ture converted to Islam.[1][2]

In 1848, Samori's mother was captured in the course of war by Séré-Burlay, of the Cissé clan. He then went to exchange himself for his mother as a result of his love for her. After arranging his mother's freedom, Samori entered into service to the Cissé, and learned to handle firearms. According to tradition, he remained "seven years, seven months, seven days" before fleeing with his mother.

He joined the Bérété army, the enemies of the Cissé, for two years before rejoining his people, the Kamara. Named Kélétigui (war commander) at Dyala in 1861, Ture took an oath to protect his people against both the Bérété and the Cissé. He created a professional army and placed close relations, notably his brothers and his childhood friends, in positions of command.

In 1864, El Hadj Umar Tall died; he had founded the aggressive Toucouleur Empire that dominated the Upper Niger River. As the Toucouleur state lost its grip on power, generals and local rulers vied to create states of their own.

By 1867, Ture was a full-fledged war commander, with an army based at Sanankoro in the Guinea Highlands, on the Upper Milo, a Niger River tributary. Ture had two major goals: to create an efficient, loyal fighting force equipped with modern firearms,[3] and to build a stable state.

By 1876, Samori was importing breech-loading rifles through the British colony of Freetown in Sierra Leone. He conquered the Buré gold-mining district (now on the border between Mali and Guinea) to bolster his financial situation. By 1878 he was strong enough to proclaim himself faama (military leader) of his Wassoulou Empire. He made Bissandugu his capital and began political and commercial exchanges with the neighbouring Toucouleur.

In 1881, after numerous struggles, Ture secured control of the key Dyula trading centre of Kankan, on the upper Milo River. Kankan was a centre for the trade in kola nuts, and was well sited to dominate the trade routes in all directions. By 1881, the Wassoulou Empire extended through the territory of present-day Guinea and Mali, from what is now Sierra Leone to northern Côte d'Ivoire.

Ture conquered the numerous small tribal states around him and worked to secure his diplomatic position. He opened regular contacts with the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone. He also built a working relationship with the Fulbe (Fula) Imamate of Futa Jallon.

The French began to expand in West Africa in the late 1870s, pushing eastward from Senegal to reach the upper reaches of the Nile in what is now Sudan. They sought to drive south-east to link up with their bases in Côte d'Ivoire. These actions put them directly into conflict with Ture.

In February 1882, a French expedition attacked one of Ture's armies that was besieging Keniera. Ture drove off the French, but he was alarmed at the discipline and firepower which their troops commanded.

He approached dealing with the French in several ways. First, he expanded south-westward to secure a line of communication with Liberia. In January 1885 he sent an embassy to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone and a Crown Colony of the British, offering to put his kingdom under British protection. The British did not want to confront the French at this time, but they allowed Ture to buy large numbers of modern repeating rifles.

When an 1885 French expedition under Col. A. V. A. Combes attempted to seize the Buré gold fields, Ture counter-attacked. Dividing his army into three mobile columns, he worked his way around the French lines of communication and forced them to withdraw quickly.

Samori's army was well equipped with modern firearms and a complex structure of permanent units. His army was divided into an infantry wing of sofa (Mandinka for infantry, usually slaves) and a cavalry wing. By 1887, Samori could field 30,000 to 35,000 infantry and about 3,000 cavalry, in regular squadrons of 50 each. But, the French did not want to give him time to consolidate his position. Exploiting the rebellions of several of Ture's subject tribes, who were animist and resisted Islam, the French continued to expand into his westernmost holdings. They forced Ture to sign several treaties ceding territory to them between 1886 and 1889.

Between 1889 and 1894, Ture's army ravaged Wassoulou and expelled or enslaved most of the population.[4]

In March 1891, a French force under Colonel Louis Archinard launched a direct attack on Kankan. Knowing his fortifications could not stop French artillery, Ture began a war of manoeuvre. Despite victories against isolated French columns (for example at Dabadugu in September 1891), Ture failed to push the French from the core of his kingdom. In June 1892, Col. Archinard's replacement, Humbert, leading a small, well-supplied force of picked men, captured Ture's capital of Bissandugu. In another blow, the British had stopped selling breech loaders to Ture in accordance with the Brussels Convention of 1890.

Ture shifted his base of operations eastward, toward the Bandama and Comoe River in Dabakala. He instituted a scorched earth policy, devastating each area before he evacuated it. Though this manoeuvre cut Ture off from Sierra Leone and Liberia, his last sources of modern weapons, it also delayed French pursuit.[5] After the spring of 1893, the French partially succeeded in cutting off Ture's sources of weapons which was supplied by the British traders since the late 1880s. Ture tried to negotiate with the British in their colonial domains in Ghana to work against the French interest, but the British would not intervene directly against France.[6]

He tried to build an anti-colonial alliance with Ashanti Empire but failed when Ashante was defeated by the British and fighting between Ture and British soldiers in 1897. The fall of other anti-colonial armies, particularly Babemba Traoré at Sikasso, permitted the French colonial army to launch a concentrated assault against Ture. By 1898, he lost almost all of his territory and fled into the mountains of western Ivory Coast. He was captured on 29 September 1898 by the French captain Henri Gouraud and was exiled to Gabon despite his request to return to southern Guinea.

Massa Makan Diabaté's play Une hyène à jeun (A Hyena with an Empty Stomach, 1988) dramatizes Samori Ture's signing of the 1886 Treaty of Kéniéba-Koura, which granted the left bank of the Niger to France.

Guinean band Bembeya Jazz National commemorated Ture in their 1969 release Regard sur le passé. The album draws upon Manding Djeli traditions and consists of two epic recordings that recount Ture's anti-colonial resistance and nation-building.

Piłaszewicz, Stanisław. 1991. On the Veracity of Oral Tradition as a Historical Source: - the Case of Samori Ture. In Unwritten Testimonies of the African Past. Proceedings of the International Symposium held in Ojrzanów n. Warsaw on 07-08 November 1989 ed. by S. Piłaszewicz and E. Rzewuski, (Orientalia Varsoviensia 2). Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. [1]

1.
Gabon
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Gabon, officially the Gabonese Republic, is a sovereign state on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west. It has an area of nearly 270,000 square kilometres and its capital and largest city is Libreville. Since its independence from France in 1960, Gabon has had three presidents, in the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon was also a member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010–2011 term. GDP grew by more than 6% per year from 2010 to 2012, however, because of inequality in income distribution, a significant proportion of the population remains poor. Gabons name originates from gabão, Portuguese for cloak, which is roughly the shape of the estuary of the Komo River by Libreville, the earliest inhabitants of the area were Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes as they migrated, in the 15th century, the first Europeans arrived. By the 18th century, a Myeni speaking kingdom known as Orungu formed in Gabon, on February 10,1722, Bartholomew Roberts, a Welsh pirate known as Black Bart, died at sea off Cape Lopez. He raided ships off the Americas and West Africa from 1719 to 1722, French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza led his first mission to the Gabon-Congo area in 1875. He founded the town of Franceville, and was later colonial governor, several Bantu groups lived in the area that is now Gabon when France officially occupied it in 1885. In 1910, Gabon became one of the four territories of French Equatorial Africa, in World War II, the Allies invaded Gabon in order to overthrow the pro-Vichy France colonial administration. The territories of French Equatorial Africa became independent on August 17,1960, the first president of Gabon, elected in 1961, was Léon Mba, with Omar Bongo Ondimba as his vice president. However, when Mba dissolved the National Assembly in January 1964 to institute one-party rule, French paratroopers flew in within 24 hours to restore Mba to power. After a few days of fighting, the coup ended and the opposition was imprisoned, French soldiers still remain in the Camp de Gaulle on the outskirts of Gabons capital to this day. When MBa died in 1967, Bongo replaced him as president, in March 1968, Bongo declared Gabon a one-party state by dissolving the BDG and establishing a new party—the Parti Democratique Gabonais. He invited all Gabonese, regardless of political affiliation, to participate. Bongo was elected President in February 1975, in April 1975, the position of president was abolished and replaced by the position of prime minister

2.
Guinea
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Guinea /ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a country on the West coast of Africa. Guinea has a population of 10.5 million and an area of 245,860 square kilometres, the president is directly elected by the people and is head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National Assembly is the body of the country. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest, the country is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the tropical regions and ends at the Sahel. Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the population, Guineas people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media. Guineas economy is dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It is the second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue. In 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, the land that is now Guinea belonged to a series of African empires until France colonized it in the 1890s, and made it part of French West Africa. Guinea declared its independence from France on 2 October 1958, from independence until the presidential election of 2010, Guinea was governed by a number of autocratic rulers. What is now Guinea was on the fringes of the major West African empires, the Ghana Empire is believed to be the earliest of these which grew on trade but contracted and ultimately fell due to the hostile influence of the Almoravids. It was in period that Islam first arrived in the region. The Mali Empire was ruled by Mansa, the most famous being Kankou Moussa, shortly after his reign the Mali Empire began to decline and was ultimately supplanted by its vassal states in the 15th century. The most successful of these was the Songhai Empire, which expanded its power from about 1460 and it continued to prosper until a civil war over succession followed the death of Askia Daoud in 1582. The weakened empire fell to invaders from Morocco at the Battle of Tondibi just three years later, the Moroccans proved unable to rule the kingdom effectively, however, and it split into many small kingdoms

3.
Clergy
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Clergy are some of the main and important formal leaders within certain religions. The roles and functions of clergy vary in different religious traditions but these usually involve presiding over specific rituals, some of the terms used for individual clergy are cleric, clergyman, clergywoman, clergyperson and churchman. In Islam, a leader is often known formally or informally as an imam, mufti. In Jewish tradition, a leader is often a rabbi or hazzan. Cleric comes from the ecclesiastical Latin clericus, for belonging to the priestly class. This is from the Ecclesiastical Greek clericus, meaning appertaining to an inheritance, Clergy is from two Old French words, clergié and clergie, which refer to those with learning and derive from Medieval Latin clericatus, from Late Latin clericus. Clerk, which used to mean one ordained to the ministry, in the Middle Ages, reading and writing were almost exclusively the domain of the priestly class, and this is the reason for the close relationship of these words. Now, the state is tied to reception of the diaconate. Minor Orders are still given in the Eastern Catholic Churches, and it is in this sense that the word entered the Arabic language, most commonly in Lebanon from the French, as kleriki meaning seminarian. This is all in keeping with Eastern Orthodox concepts of clergy, which include those who have not yet received, or do not plan to receive. A priesthood is a body of priests, shamans, or oracles who have religious authority or function. Buddhist clergy are often referred to as the Sangha. This diversity of monastic orders and styles was originally one community founded by Gautama Buddha during the 5th century BC living under a set of rules. The interaction between Buddhism and Tibetan Bon led to a uniquely Tibetan Buddhism, within which various sects, similarly, the interaction between Indian Buddhist monks and Chinese Confucian and Taoist monks from c200-c900AD produced the distinctive Chan Buddhism. In these ways, manual labour was introduced to a practice where monks originally survived on alms, layers of garments were added where originally a single thin robe sufficed and this adaptation of form and roles of Buddhist monastic practice continued after the transmission to Japan. For example, monks took on administrative functions for the Emperor in particular secular communities, again, in response to various historic attempts to suppress Buddhism, the practice of celibacy was relaxed and Japanese monks allowed to marry. This form was then transmitted to Korea, during later Japanese occupation, as these varied styles of Buddhist monasticism are transmitted to Western cultures, still more new forms are being created. This broad difference in approach led to a schism among Buddhist monastics in about the 4th century BCE

4.
Sierra Leone
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Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north-east, Liberia to the south-east, Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra Leone has an area of 71,740 km2. Sierra Leone is divided into four regions, the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. Freetown is the capital, largest city and its economic and political centre, Bo is the second largest city. The other major cities are Kenema, Makeni and Koidu Town, Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. Sir Milton Margai built his government based on democratic principles. Throughout his time in power, Sir Milton Margai was very popular across Sierra Leone, the main opposition APC, led by its leader Siaka Stevens, narowly defeated the ruling SLPP under the leadership of Albert Margai in the 1964 general elections. Stevens ruled for eighteen years in a government, in which his critics. Soldiers and politicians convicted of plotting a coup to topple Stevens were executed, under president Stevens, the APC was made the only legal political party in Sierra Leone, and all other political parties were banned, including the main opposition. Stevens handpicked successor, retired major general Joseph Saidu Momoh, lacked the political dominance of Stevens, Momoh reestablished the country as a multi party democracy in 1991. The current constitution of Sierra Leone was adopted in 1991 during the presidency of Joseph Saidu Momoh, the rebels started the civil war in 1991 in the eastern part of the country during Momohs presidency. Momoh was very unpopular, and Public anger against the Momoh government increasingly grew due to corruption, poor economy. In 1992 a group of officers in the army led by a 25-year-old captain, Valentine Strasser. In 1996 during the war, another military coup of soldiers within Strassers inner circle, led by a 32 year old Brigadier General Julius Maada Bio, toppled Strasser. Since independent to present, Sierra Leones politics has been dominated by two political parties, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party and the All Peoples congress. From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone civil war was fought and this proxy war left more than 50,000 people dead, much of the countrys infrastructure destroyed, and over two million people displaced as refugees in neighbouring countries. In January 2002, then Sierra Leones president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, fulfilled his promise by ending the civil war, with help by the British Government, ECOWAS

5.
Mali
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Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometres, the population of Mali is 14.5 million. The countrys economy centers on agriculture and fishing, some of Malis prominent natural resources include gold, being the third largest producer of gold in the African continent, and salt. About half the population lives below the poverty line of $1.25 a day. A majority of the population are Muslims, present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade, the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire, and the Songhai Empire. During its golden age, there was a flourishing of mathematics, astronomy, literature, at its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire covered an area about twice the size of modern-day France and stretched to the west coast of Africa. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegals withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. In January 2012, a conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of by April and declared the secession of a new state. The conflict was complicated by a coup that took place in March. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013, a month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second round held on 11 August. The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire, the name was originally derived from the Mandinka or Bambara word mali, meaning “hippopotamus”, but it eventually came to mean the place where the king lives. The word carries the connotation of strength, D. Niane suggests in Sundiata, An Epic of Old Mali that it is not impossible that Mali was the name given to one of the capitals of the emperors. 14th century Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the Mali Empire was indeed called Mali and this name could have formerly been that of a city. In old Mali there is one village called Malikoma which means “New Mali. ”Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/, Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities

6.
Ivory Coast
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Ivory Coast or Côte dIvoire, officially the Republic of Côte dIvoire, is a country located in West Africa. Ivory Coasts political capital is Yamoussoukro, and its economic capital and its bordering countries are Guinea and Liberia in the west, Burkina Faso and Mali in the north, and Ghana in the east. The Gulf of Guinea is located south of Ivory Coast, prior to its colonization by Europeans, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. Two Anyi kingdoms, Indénié and Sanwi, attempted to retain their identity through the French colonial period. Ivory Coast became a protectorate of France in 1843–1844 and was formed into a French colony in 1893 amid the European scramble for Africa. Ivory Coast achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country maintained close political and economic association with its West African neighbors while at the same time maintaining close ties to the West, especially France. Since the end of Houphouët-Boignys rule in 1993, Ivory Coast has experienced one coup détat, in 1999, the first took place between 2002 and 2007 and the second during 2010-2011. As a result, in 2000, the adopted a new Constitution. Ivory Coast is a republic with an executive power invested in its President. Through the production of coffee and cocoa, the country was a powerhouse in West Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. Ivory Coast went through a crisis in the 1980s, contributing to a period of political and social turmoil. Changing into the 21st-century Ivorian economy is largely market-based and still heavily on agriculture. The official language is French, with indigenous languages also widely used, including Baoulé, Dioula, Dan, Anyin. In total there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast, popular religions include Islam, Christianity, and various indigenous religions. Originally, Portuguese and French merchant-explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries divided the west coast of Africa, very roughly, there was also a Pepper Coast also known as the Grain Coast, a Gold Coast, and a Slave Coast. Like those, the name Ivory Coast reflected the major trade occurred on that particular stretch of the coast. One can find the name Cote de Dents regularly used in older works and it was used in Ducketts Dictionnaire and by Nicolas Villault de Bellefond, for examples, although Antoine François Prévost used Côte dIvoire. In the 19th century, usage switched to Côte dIvoire and it retained the name through French rule and independence in 1960

7.
Burkina Faso
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Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in Africa around 274,200 square kilometres in size. It is surrounded by six countries, Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, in 2014 its population was estimated at just over 17.3 million. Burkina Faso is a country and French is an official language of government. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara, residents of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabé. Before the conquest of what is now Burkina Faso by the French, after gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes. Blaise Compaoré was the most recent president and ruled the country from 1987 until he was ousted from power by the popular youth upheaval of 31 October 2014 and this resulted in a semi-presidential republic which lasted from October 2014 to September 2015. On 17 September 2015 the provisional government was in turn toppled by an apparent military coup carried out by the Regiment of Presidential Security. On 24 September 2015, after pressure from the African Union, ECOWAS, and the forces, the military junta agreed to step down. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara, the bé suffix added onto Burkina to form the demonym Burkinabé comes from the Fula language and means men or women. The northwestern part of todays Burkina Faso was populated by hunter-gatherers between 14,000 and 5000 BC and their tools, including scrapers, chisels and arrowheads, were discovered in 1973 through archeological excavations. Agricultural settlements were established between 3600 and 2600 BC, the Bura culture was an Iron-Age civilization centered in the southwest portion of modern-day Niger and in the southeast part of contemporary Burkina Faso. Iron industry, in smelting and forging for tools and weapons, had developed in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BC, historians began to debate about the exact dates when Burkina Fasos many ethnic groups arrived to the area. During the Middle Ages the Mossi established several kingdoms including those of Tenkodogo, Yatenga, Zandoma. Sometime between 1328 and 1338 Mossi warriors raided Timbuktu but the Mossi were defeated by Sonni Ali of Songhai at the Battle of Kobi in Mali in 1483, during the early 16th century the Songhai conducted many slave raids into what is today Burkina Faso. During the 18th century the Gwiriko Empire was established at Bobo Dioulasso and ethnic groups such as the Dyan, Lobi, starting in the early 1890s a series of British, French and German military officers made attempts to claim parts of what is today Burkina Faso. At times these colonialists and their armies fought the local peoples, at times they forged alliances with them, the colonialist officers and their home governments also made treaties amongst themselves. Through a complex series of events what is Burkina Faso eventually became a French protectorate in 1896, the eastern and western regions, where a standoff against the forces of the powerful ruler Samori Ture complicated the situation, came under French occupation in 1897. By 1898, the majority of the corresponding to Burkina Faso was nominally conquered, however

8.
Jurisprudence
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Jurisprudence is the study and theory of law. It includes principles behind law that make the law, scholars of jurisprudence, also known as jurists or legal theorists, hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems, and of legal institutions. Modern jurisprudence began in the 18th century and was focused on the first principles of the law, civil law. Contemporary philosophy of law, which deals with general jurisprudence, addresses problems in two groups, Problems internal to law and legal systems. Problems of law as a social institution as law relates to the larger political and social situation in which it exists. Answers to these questions come from four schools of thought in general jurisprudence. The foundations of law are accessible through reason and it is from these laws of nature that human-created laws gain whatever force they have. Legal positivism, by contrast to natural law, holds that there is no connection between law and morality and that the force of law comes from some basic social facts. Legal positivists differ on what facts are. Critical legal studies are a younger theory of jurisprudence that has developed since the 1970s and it holds that the law is largely contradictory, and can be best analyzed as an expression of the policy goals of a dominant social group. A further relatively new field is known as jurisprudence, concerned with the impact of legal processes on wellbeing. The English word is based on the Latin maxim jurisprudentia, juris is the form of jus meaning law. The word is first attested in English in 1628, at a time when the word prudence had the meaning of knowledge of or skill in a matter, the word may have come via the French jurisprudence, which is attested earlier. Ancient Indian jurisprudence is available in various Dharmaśāstra texts starting from the Dharmasutra of Bhodhayana. Jurisprudence already had this meaning in Ancient Rome even if at its origins the discipline was a in the jus of mos maiorum, an iudex then would judge a remedy according to the facts of the case. The law was implemented with new evolutive Institutiones, while remaining in the traditional scheme. Praetors were replaced in the 3rd century BC by a body of prudentes. Admission to this body was conditional upon proof of competence or experience, under the Roman Empire, schools of law were created, and the activity constantly became more academic

9.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

10.
West Africa
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West Africa, also called Western Africa and the West of Africa, is the westernmost subregion of Africa. Early human settlers from northern Holocene societies arrived in West Africa around 12,000 B. C, sedentary farming began in, or around the fifth millennium B. C, as well as the domestication of cattle. By 1500 B. C, ironworking technology allowed an expansion of productivity. Northern tribes developed walled settlements and non-walled settlements that numbered at 400, in the forest region, Iron Age cultures began to flourish, and an inter-region trade began to appear. The desertification of the Sahara and the change of the coast cause trade with upper Mediterranean peoples to be seen. Local leather, cloth, and gold also contributed to the abundance of prosperity for many of the following empires. Also, based on the archaeology of city of Kumbi Saleh in modern-day Mauritania, three great kingdoms were identified in Bilad al-Sudan by the ninth century. They included Ghana, Gao and Kanem, the Sosso Empire sought to fill the void, but was defeated by the Mandinka forces of Sundiata Keita, founder of the new Mali Empire. In the 15th century, the Songhai would form a new dominant state based on Gao, in the Songhai Empire, under the leadership of Sonni Ali, further east, Oyo arose as the dominant Yoruba state and the Aro Confederacy as a dominant Igbo state in modern-day Nigeria. The Kingdom of Nri was a West African medieval state in the present-day southeastern Nigeria, the Kingdom of Nri was unusual in the history of world government in that its leader exercised no military power over his subjects. The kingdom existed as a sphere of religious and political influence over a third of Igboland, the Eze Nri managed trade and diplomacy on behalf of the Nri people, and possessed divine authority in religious matters. The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire of what is today Western, established in the 15th century, the Oyo Empire grew to become one of the largest West African states. It rose through the organizational skills of the Yoruba, wealth gained from trade. The Benin Empire was an empire located in what is now southern Nigeria. Its capital was Edo, now known as Benin City, Edo and it should not be confused with the modern-day country called Benin, formerly called Dahomey. The Benin Empire was one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the hinterland of West Africa. Olfert Dapper, a Dutch writer, describing Benin in his book Description of Africa and its craft was the most adored and treasured bronze casting in the history of Africa. It was annexed by the British Empire in 1897 during the invasion, in the early 19th century, a series of Fulani reformist jihads swept across Western Africa

The great bend of the Niger River, seen from space, creates a green arc through the brown of the Sahel and Savanna. The green mass on the left is the Inner Niger Delta, and on the far left are tributaries of the Senegal River.

Mud houses on the center island at Lake Debo, a wide section of the Niger River.

British 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle-Loaded (RML) Gun on a Moncrieff disappearing mount, at Scaur Hill Fort, Bermuda. This is a part of a fixed battery, meant to protect against over-land attack and to serve as coastal artillery.

The Toucouleur Empire (also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state or the Segu Tukulor) (1861–1890) was founded in the …

A contemporary German map showing states prior to the rise of Umar Tall, coloured to represent Umar's empire in 1861. Conquered capitals in green, French forts in blue. The unoccupied region in the center is the waste of Hodh.

the greatest extent of the Toucouleur Empire at the time of El Hadj Umar Tall's death in 1864